Hamzah Khalique-Loonat

Learn from those around you, trust your instincts and follow your passion. These are the essential building blocks for Hamzah’s journalism career, which has taken him from an NCTJ training scheme to an internship at Reuters and now almost 5 years as a football reporter and data journalist at The Times. From finding a niche and an original perspective to not taking rejections personally, Hamzah shares his tips below for how to keep on learning and improving – one article at a time.

What I do

My creative practice
I’m a football journalist. I attend matches, interview players and coaches, analyse games and travel around the world to report on the sport.

Influences and inspiration
I’m quite lucky to work with colleagues who are the best in the country at what they do; It’s a privilege getting to see how they work and talk to them. I often think “What would they do?” when I’m writing or interviewing, and I think that perspective has made me a much better journalist. But it’s important to still trust your instincts. The best in the business usually cherry-pick the bits they like from others, but are clear enough in their own ideas, too — there’s no point trying to be someone else, because they’ll always be better at being themselves!

Ever since I moved to London 10 years ago for university, I’ve always loved the British Library because of the vast knowledge there and the appetite of the people who visit. From a strictly football sense, Wembley always gets me excited, especially when it gets to the FA Cup semi-finals and finals.

My training
I undertook a journalism course (NCTJ level 5 diploma) at Press Association Media Academy after I completed my undergraduate and master's degrees. I then joined a graduate trainee scheme with The Times.

I think originality – the ability to see things from a different perspective – is essential, alongside a genuine interest in your subject matter.

Favourite recent project
I’m working on an article with our award-winning sports photographers, Marc Aspland and Bradley Ormesher. It’s not quite ready yet, so I can’t divulge the details, but we’re trying to use their incredible expertise to produce a visual guide. I’m really excited about it. Again, it’s such a privilege to work with people this talented: when you see the work and thought they put in, it’s staggering.

Photo by Karla Lizethe Hunter

A day in the life
There’s usually quite a bit of travelling! Almost every weekend I’m covering a match, and I might do one during the week too. These could be domestic or international. In between matches, I’m attending press conferences, meeting people for interviews or for a coffee, scouring match footage or data to write some analysis.

A starter pack for my job:
Laptop, pen and paper, dictaphone and a go-bag with spare clothes, international plug adapters, toiletries, passport and some snacks — you can get sent anywhere on short notice, so it’s good to always have something ready if you do need to shoot off.

How I got here

Starting my creative journey
I started writing when I was at school for a football fan site. Moving from there into the professional world took a long time, but it was really important to develop a specialty and understanding of what interested me and what I felt I could write about that other readers needed to know (and that other writers weren’t covering).

The Times spread. Photo by Karla Lizethe Hunter.

Landing my first few jobs, clients and/or commissions
I emailed the fan site with an article I drafted in my spare time and was then recruited as a writer. The first few pieces were free, but then I began getting paid. This was while I was still at school, so it was a casual, part-time gig. I briefly did some more freelance writing immediately after I finished my course, but then I had a paid internship with Reuters, followed by the graduate scheme with The Times, so I’ve not really been a “proper” freelance writer.

Biggest challenges along the way
The biggest challenge was getting that first big opportunity. You get turned down a lot as a graduate, from all sorts of roles, and in journalism, a larger proportion of applications are rejected. It’s important to not take these rejections personally.

My social media and self-promotion vibe is…
I don’t like social media that much, so I don’t use it a lot. However, that is a bad idea if you want to project your work, develop a personal brand (which employers often value, and which gives you value beyond your employer’s brand), and engage with a wider online audience.

Use it, but not too much. Remember that social media companies are platforms — you’ve got to be able to still get your work out there even if a platform goes down or is banned. Don’t be too reliant on one single platform.

Three things I've found useful in my career:
Reach out and ask senior colleagues or experts for their thoughts all the time. Be curious about what they’re thinking; you’ll pick up things you never would have considered, and it will help to inform your work.

Read, watch and consume as much as possible around your subject. You should find it interesting to learn new things, and that appetite should guide you. This is why it’s important to enjoy the field you work in – you’ll find this process a slog otherwise.

Look back at your work and reflect on how you can improve. Compare it to other people’s stuff and see what you did differently; question why there are differences and whether you think there’s a better way to do things. You can then work on making sure the next piece is just a bit better than the last one.

Hamzah at The Times. Photo by Karla Lizethe Hunter.

Courses, programmes, initiatives, access schemes or job boards I've found helpful
I had my journalism course paid for by the NCTJ’s Journalism Diversity Fund, for which I am very grateful. Before that course, I did work with Creative Access, who were very helpful with careers advice and opportunities. I also did some work with the Centre for Investigative Journalism and the Patchwork Foundation – both were fascinating experiences that opened my eyes to new things and doors to opportunities.

My greatest learnings when it comes to making money and supporting myself as a creative:
It’s important to have some sort of financial stability, otherwise things can get very stressful. For me, having a full-time job makes that much easier. If you’re freelance, it’s important to make sure you get paid and are clear about your fees. A little bit of goodwill work when you’re just starting out (and I mean, if you’re at school or maybe starting university) is okay, but that can only be for a short period of time. When you’re looking for work, it’s important that you’re treated with respect, because some employers or commissioners may try to take advantage of getting good work cheaply.

Photo by Karla Lizethe Hunter

My advice

My most useful career tips
Trust your instincts and try your best to never get too disheartened by setbacks – everyone experiences them, some unfortunately more than others. Try to do your best so you’re proud of your work; that way, you’ll learn, enjoy what you do and improve.

What I'd say to someone looking to get into a similar role
Start writing (or recording videos/podcasts) straight away. Build your portfolio and share it online. Get feedback on it. Try new things out and see what areas you think are ripe for innovation and a different approach.